WASHINGOTN - The United States and European Union on Sunday clinched what President Donald Trump described as the "biggest-ever" deal to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war.
Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland to announce that a baseline tariff of 15 percent would be levied on EU exports to the US.
The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on an August 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 percent on European goods.
"We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," said Trump.
Trump said the 15 percent tariff would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
As part of the deal, Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase "$750-billion worth of energy" from the United States, as well as make $600-billion in additional investments.
Von der Leyen said the "significant" purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc's bid to diversify away from Russian sources.
Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9-trillion in goods and services.
"It's a good deal," the EU chief told reporters.
"It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said.